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On a night that went from bad to worse, only a knee injury could stop Toronto Argonauts quarterback Ricky Ray from tearing the Bombers apart en route to a miserable 35-19 loss in front of a heckling hometown crowd.

Two of the Bombers’ points came via a late-game safety by Argos kicker Noel Prefontaine, as the clock ticked down in garbage time. Nine came off the foot of kicker Justin Palardy, who opened scoring with a 34-yard field goal less than three minutes into the night, after quarterback Buck Pierce led a 59-yard drive. He would do it again only 10 seconds into the second, a 30-yarder that time, and strike one last time in the fourth, even though the game was already far out of hand and most of the crowd of 31,257 had fled the stands.

At any rate, Palardy had a nice night. So did receiver Clarence Denmark, who had three receptions in the first, including one for 38 yards and another for 39, both of which helped put the Bombers in scoring position. Too bad most the rest of the team can’t say the same good things.

The Bombers’ attack sputtered after that nice start out of the gate: Pierce went 10 and 14 for 139 yards with one interception before Burke yanked him out of the game and replaced him with back-up Justin Goltz in the third. Pierce suffered an abdominal injury — the extent of his injury won’t be known until Monday.

Meanwhile, Ray sliced and diced the defence, completing 19 of 20 attempts for 286 yards and two touchdowns, and nearly a third major before he had to leave the game with a banged-up knee in the third quarter.

Goltz did have some luck, handing the ball off to Chad Simpson near the Argos end zone for the Bombers’ only touchdown of the game. True, there were only 29 seconds left to play, but hey, at least those fans left at Investors Group Field got something to smile over, as receiver Isaac Anderson caught the two-point convert to make the final score.

The Bombers weren't the only ones being heckled at Investors Group Field; Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was spotted along the sidelines at Friday night's game, and heard his fair share from the crowd before exiting.

Toronto Argonauts back-up quarterback Zach Collaros (#17) gets across the goal line for a touchdown during the second quarter.

John Woods / The Canadian Press

Toronto Argonauts' Spencer Watt grabs a pass from Ricky Ray during the first half of the game.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Winnipeg Blue Bombers' Isaac Anderson (86) is brought down by Janzen Jackson (10) and Jamie Robinson (4) i of the Toronto Argonauts in the second quarter

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Toronto Argonauts Spencer Watt (89) celebrates his touchdown with teammate Jason Barnes during the second quarter.

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Toronto Argonauts Chad Owens signals he's across for a touchdown during the second quarter as Cauchy Muamba of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers hangs on. Officials ruled he was brought down short of the goal line.

Tim Krochak / Halifax Chronicle / Special to the Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Buck Pierce gets sacked by Shane Horton (centre) and Jonathan Williams late in the second quarter.

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Winnipeg Blue Bombers' quarterback Buck Pierce is sacked by Toronto Argonauts' Shane Horton (27) and Jonathan Williams (75) with less than a minute to go in the first half of Friday night's game.

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Cleyon Lang of the Toronto Argonauts taunts Winnipeg Blue Bombers quarterback Buck Pierce after Pierce was sacked late in the second quarter during Friday night's game.

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Buck Pierce nurses some bumps after a second-quarter sack.

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

Winnipeg Blue Bomber quarterback Buck Pierce sits dejected on the bench during the final plays of the fourth quarter.

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